About 21 units of the Royal Enfield Classic 350 have been modified into ambulances, and the custom-made bikes have been named as Rakshita. The motorcycles have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) in collaboration with the CRPF.
The RE Classic 350 ambulances feature various changes that set them apart from the stock model of the bike and makes them capable of carrying their assigned tasks. The seat has been customized for reclining offering a quick fit-in and quick fit-out making it a Casualty Evacuation Seat (CSE).
Additional features include a hand immobilizer and harness jacket, a physiological parameter with monitoring capability and the custom-made ambulances also feature an auto warning system for the rider.
The motorcycles are also equipped with a fully-monitoring dashboard-mounted LCD for measuring vital parameters, air splint medical and oxygen kit, saline and oxygen administration on the move, adjustable footrest, and hand and foot strap for the safety of the riders.
In order to provide national security to the nation, CRPF is actively deployed across the country. Most of these deployments are in remote places where evacuation of sick and battle-injured personnel becomes difficult to handle. To mitigate this situation, CRPF in 2018 approached INAMS with the prolonged idea that developing an ambulance on motorbikes will be of much use for patrolling by the CRPF.
The Rakshita bike ambulances have been developed with the sole aim of the evacuation of the security force personnel in remote regions. They are not just indigenous and cost-effective but can also reach in places where the personnel face inaccessible directions by traversing unmotorable roads, narrow streets, and congested roads that are otherwise unreachable by the four-wheeler ambulances.
